Tire.



PATENTBD MAR. 13, 1906.

B; C. SBATON.

TIRE.

APPLICATION FILED Muze. 1905;

I Inventor; Benjamin C1' Seabo'n rG/.w/JAQTTYSI:

W Ilmases 7 rIo of wheels, but

BENJAMIN C. SEATON, EIGHTHS TO OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- F. A. KEHL, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

TIRE.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN C. SEATON, a citizen of the United States, residing at the c1ty of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improve- `ment in Tires, of which the following is a full,

clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accom anying drawings, forming part of this speci cation, in Which- Figure l'is a side elevational view showing part of one .of the side plates removed and part of the Wheel in section to illustrate the arrangement of the springs. tional view through the tire and rim; and Fig.l 3 is a fragmentary perspective View of the yielding portion of the. wheel, part of the inner rim being broken away to show the arrangement of the springs.

Thisinvention relates to the general class particularly to a resilient tire therefor which will possessv the requisite amount of resiliency Without the disadvantage attendant upon the use of pneumatic tires.

Another object is to provide a wheel-tire which will have all of the advantages of a pneumatic. titre and which will not be liable to puncture or wear out as readily as the tire of the pneumatic typec l Another object of the invention .is to provide means whereby the resiliency of the tire will be uniformly distributed around the axis of the wheel.

Other objects and advantages, as well as the minor details of construction, Will be referred to hereinafter, it being understood y that changes in the form, proportion, and

minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the principle of my invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

In order to illustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention, I have shown -it apl plied to a wheel, as shown in Fig. 1, in which 1 designates the hub, 2 the radially-disposed spokes, and 3 the felly. Secured to the felly is a tire, which tire is illustrated as comprising an inner rinl 4 and an outer rim 5.

' These rims are provided with alining vertical walls to form an approximately-rectangular Specification of Letters Patent. l Application filed May 26, 1905. Serial No. 262,469'.

c Fig. 2 is a sec.

Patented March 13,1906.

housing, and the alining walls are provided with adjacent peripheries of sinusoidal contours, designated by the numerals 6 and 7 and spaced apart to-form a sinuous slot in the side wall of the housing. The sinusoidal projections designated by the numerals 8 and 9 are arranged in alternating circular series that is, the projections carried by the upper rim alternate with those carried by the lower rim-so that the slot is of approximately the same shape as the adjacent edges of the sidev walls of the respective rims, which are illustrated as being parallel with each other. These projections are also arranged to alternate transversely-that is to say, the end of one projection of veach of the rims lis opposite the space between the bases of the projections on the opposite side wall of that particular rim-and the reason for this is to providemeans for fastening the coil-springs 10,

so that when weight is applied to the wheel the tension of .the springs will vbe equally distributed circumferentially around the felly of the wheel. The springs employed are illustrated as having relatively large convolutes at their central portion, which. convo-A lutes gradually decrease towardv their respective ends, and the end coils or oonvolutes of the spring engage headed fastening devices 11, which are adapted for engagement 'with recesses 12 and 13 on the lower and upper rims, respectively.

Attention is directed to. the peculiar manner in which the springs are assembled. One endf of each spring is secured to the upstandin sinusoidal projection of the lower rim, While the other end is secured to the depend# ing sinusoidal projection on the upper rim on the opposite side of the upstanding projection on the lower rim. In this manner the springs will normally all be arranged in horizontal lanes, but slightly under tension, because t 1e points of attachment will be diametrically opposite each other. However, when pressure is applied to the wheel the tendency of the lower portion of the Wheel t'o place the lower series of springs under tension will be communicated throughout thewheel and all of the springs will be placed under approximately the same amount of tension, so that the resiliency will be distributed circum IOO ferentially around the felly. This equal disv other foreign substances, lV employ protectorj to have it understood that I do not limit mytributionoi the tension on the springs is due to the f act that the outer rim is provided with lixed securing-points-that is, the securingA-` points for the springs do not under any condition change, but the securing-points -for the springs carried by the inner rims change proportionately to the amount of weight applied to the wheel. When the springs are under abnormal tension, they are alternately inclinedv in such a manner that each alternate spring is inc lined in a direction opposite to the adjacent ones. Hence the provision for resisting the end thrust as well as the provision for the side thrust of the axle is made.

The movement of the inner rim will be limited only by the width of the sinuous slot formed in each side of the housing, and this slotV will be Wide enough to meet the varying requirements. The lower portion of the outer rim is provided with an annular vfiller, 14, around which are bent the side walls ot the lower rim, which. side walls are provided with flared outer edges 15 and 16 to receive the resilient tread 17, preferably olt rubber.

In order to protect the springs from deterioration due to atmospheric conditions, as Well as the introduction of dust, dirt, and

plates 1S and 1), which overlap the side walls of the inner and outer rims, which side walls are secured inA place by means of rivet-rods 20, which extend through the filler 14, thc side walls 18 and 19, and the side walls of the outer rim-section.

In assembling the parts the heads carried by the respective springs will be introduced into the sockets, and the sid es 18 and 19 may then be placed in proper position, as illustrated in Fig. 2. While I prefer to employ the side plates 18 and 19, I appreciate that under certain conditions these side plates may not be essential, and I therefore desire self to their use, but reserve the right to make the tire with or without these.

.By providing a tire constructed in accordance with my invention I combine the advantages ol a pneumatic tire with those o'll a spring-tire in that I obtain the resiliency oi a spring-tire together with the noiseless feature of the pneumatic tire.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

1. A wheel-tire comprising two rims having alining'walls, the edges of which are in thelorm of' sinusoidal curves, the projections i formed by`said curves alternating with each other, and transversely arranged tensionsprings connected to the transverselyopposite projections, substantially as described.

2. A wheel-tii'e comprising two rims spaced apart, the adjacent edges of the rims lorn'iing j a sinuous slot, coilsprings connecting the l substantially as described.

projections on one rim with those on the other, and protectonplates carried by one of the rims and overlapping the other to close the slot; substantially as described.

3. A wheel-tire com rising two rims spaced apart, the adjacent e ges ofthe rims forming a sinuous slot, coil-springs -connecting the projections on one rim with those on the other,-protectorplates carried by one of the rims and overlapping the other to close the slot, and a resilient tread carried by the outer rim; substantially as described.

4. A wheel-tire comprising two rims each oi which is provided with two parallel walls, and each of which is provided with outstanding projections arranged in transverse alter' nating series, each projection on one of the rims transversely alining with those on the opposite side of the other' rim, and coil-springs connecting the transversely-alining projections; substantially as described.

5. A wheel-tire comprising' two rims one within the other and both of said rims having vertical walls alining with each other, springs arranged within the rims and having their opposite ends connected to the vertical walls of the inner and outer rims respectively so that all of the springs will be in tension under loadv substantially as described.

6. A wheeltire consisting of inner and outer rim portions the* walls of which aline with each other, said inner and outer rim por tions having diametrically opposite overlapping projections on their respective sides ,Y and horizontally-arranged coil-springs connected to the oppositely-arranged overlapping projections and normally under tension; substantially as described. y

7. A wheel-tire comprisingy spaced rims whose walls aline with each other, and a series of coil-springs connecting said rims, which springs are alternately oppositely inclined under abnormal tension; substantially as described.

'8. A wheel having a tire comprising two sections, one of which is the inner section and approximately U shaped in cross section with side flanges disposed outwardly, the other section being the outer section and having side (langes which aline with those on the inner section, the flanges on the side walls of IIO IIS

one section having projections which aline I olE the outer rim, and a spring connecting each projection on the outer rim with the transf versely-ahmng projection on the inner rim;

9. A wheel-tire comprisingan inner rim and an outer rim, the outer rim havin@ side walls which aline with the sidel walls of t 1e 1nner rim, saidfouter and` inner rims 'bein signature, in the rpresence of 'two witnesses, spaoed apart, and transversely armn e this 24th day of May, 1905. sprmgs oonned Within the rim one-en of T T each sprung bemg connected to tle inner rim, BNJAML C' SEATG" While the other en'd i's connected. to the outer rim; substantially ats described.

In testimony whereof hereunto affix my Witnessesz.

B. F. FUNK, GEORGE BAKEWELL. 

